The other kind
by TherealSambo
Summary: What seems to be a remnant outbreak is actually something so much worse. But this time the team can't punch a few people and stop a sorcerer to fix it. Based right after DB. My first fan-fiction, criticizing to help is appreciated. P.S-Has a bit of a slow start, just stay with me and it will get heaps better (hopefully) P.P.S-Rated T to be safe, it may get gory later on :D
1. Shock effect

What seems to be a remnant outbreak is actually something so much worse. But this time the team can't punch a few people, arrest them and stop a sorcerer to fix it.

My first fan-fiction, so if something is in the wrong place e.g this summary, please tell me and I will fix it. Criticizing to help is appreciated, criticizing for the sake of it is not.

P.S-There will be more, this is just a really short intro, so don't abandon it straight away please.

**Valkyrie's POV**

It had only been a few months since it started, yet already 90% of the global population was gone. It had just been a report of rabies, or that it was the insanity virus again, something that people could brush off as an exaggerated news story, or something that could be waited out, then there was the second report, then the third, the fourth, the fifth, then the huge death toll that was still growing, then the warnings, the debates on tv, the tense and heated sanctuary meetings, the news that the outbreak had spread to other continents, and then all of a sudden, as Skulduggery and I were driving through Dublin on one of our cases, there was a scream. The outbreak had reached Ireland.

Now It's just us, collecting supplies, looking for survivors, and occasionally putting the turned out of their misery. We're heading towards roarhaven. If the sanctuary hasn't been infested, that's the safest place to be, that is the one place where there will be a vast amount of supplies, that is the place we will be able to call home. Skulduggery stops the car just outside roarhaven, so as not to attract any turned that might be here. We both get out of the spare car (The bentley was destroyed by a bomb) and head towards the sanctuary, hoping that for once, we will have good luck.


	2. What to do in the case of an outbreak

**Valkyrie's POV**

"It could be either. If you look at the videos of the Insanity virus, they all have black veins and lips. I think this is just a rabies outbreak." I tell my mum. We are both sitting at the table eating breakfast, discussing the topic on the news, which is a report of either people that may have rabies or possibly the insanity virus in Africa.

"Well, first of all, people don't actually want to infect others when they have rabies, and second, they certainly don't chase crowds across town. It's probably another insanity virus going around." My mum responded with.

"I guess we'll have to find out eventually." I concluded.

"I suppose so" Mum agreed.

As soon as I'm in my room I tap the mirror and change into my work clothes as my reflection steps out of the glass. Skulduggery had called yesterday and told me there was sanctuary meeting that we couldn't miss, apparently it had something to do with the outbreak in Africa.

When I land on the grass I jog around the house and towards the bentley. Skulduggery and I greet each other and head to roarhaven.

Once we're there we enter the sanctuary building and tipstaff leads us to the meeting room.

As we join the meeting Ravel greets us. There are many people in the room, some of the the ones that stound out to me are China (I don't know what the hell she is doing here) , Fletcher, Cassandra Pharos, Ghastly, Mist, Ravel, Nye, a necromancer I have never met and a very wary, very tense warlock.

"As you all know, there has been reports of a remnant outbreak in Africa. The sanctuary there has requested all possible help, and this is where everyone here comes in. Each person here is either very powerful, can be extremely helpful, has lots of influence or has a high level of authority. I know that some of you may not see eye-to-eye, may not like each other or may absolutely hate each other, and I understand that. But I'm requesting that you help us in helping Africa by using your abilities in the sanctuaries favour. " When Ravel finished, the necromancer spoke up "I think I speak for all necromancers, warlocks, Nye, and China when I ask this, but how is this going to benefit us in any way?"

"Well, firstly, Nye doesn't have a choice, he works for the sanctuary, secondly, if we fail in helping Africa, this outbreak can possibly spread to the rest of the world, and hiding in a temple, forest or mansion won't help" Ravel answers instantly, as if he was expecting the question, which he probably was.

"How bad is it?" Fletcher asks, suprisingly. "I'll show you some footage" Ravel replies after a few seconds of thought.

He opens a VCR file on a professional looking laptop sitting in front of him. When the video starts there is a person looking into the camera saying something in african, he then turns the camera around to show a person being tackled by another that is obviously possessed by a remnant, while the same thing happens to hundreds of other people in the background. The possessed then bites into the person's shoulder, jumps off them and sprints towards the camera, leaps and dissappears, the world spins and ravel closes the video. The room is dead silent. "They are not remnants" Mist says softly, breaking the silence. "What do you mean they're not remnants?" Ghastly cries, "In that sort of situation remnants do not use the energy to hide the black veins and lips, second, remnants show emotion, they grin, they snarl, and they laugh, third, have you ever see remnants act like that, they always fight like normal humans, though with more force behind the blows" she answers blandly.

"She has a point" Skulduggery agrees.

"Maybe they're possessed by something else, kind of like what happened to the jitter girls" I suggest. "That's always possible, It's happened before" a man says. He has black hair, black eyes and a gaunt face. He is wearing a thin, long -sleeve shirt under a bulky spray-jacket with a hood, long cotton drill pants, long socks and a pair of joggers. With this strange combination of clothes, I'm guessing he's a dimensional shunter, wearing certain clothes so that if he shunts somewhere with an atmosphere humans can survive in, he will have the right clothes for the environment.

"Yes, it did happen, about six hundred years ago!" An elderly looking woman argues.

"Just because the last time it happened was a long time ago does not mean it can't happen again!" the man rebuts.

"OKAY!" Ravel says loudly "It could be as Valkyrie suggested, or it could not! But what I need to know is if anyone here is willing to help"

The room was silent. I'm not sure who says it, but I hear a quiet "Why not?"


	3. Preparations

**Valkyries POV**

We are in the African sanctuary, planning defensive strategies against the possessed. The only thing that ayone has come up with so far is brute force, since nobody has heard of this type of possession before, and anyone that actually sees one is then a possessed themselves several seconds later. The Sanctuary has set up steel fences with constant patrols around them, the fences are two overlapping layers of mesh and are shaped like an upside down "L", with the horizontal part at the top made out of smooth steel, it is designed so that it is extremely hard to climb over. Everyone has a special purpose here, whether it is to swell the tiny army of sorcerers, organize supplies and resources, investigate the situation or make plans. Once a plan is made, everyone leaves the meeting room to do what they can. I watch as China and several apprentices go outside to set up traps and barriers using the symbols that they specialize in. I hate China, but I know that if I'm going to contribute to helping the sanctuary, I need to ignore this fact.

It's been three days since we have arrived here, and nothing has happened. Small tower like structures have been set up around the sanctuary, to provide a better position for defence. Skulduggery and I are heading to the meeting room for a plan update. As we move closer there seems to be more activity, people are hurrying to and fro, some giving orders and some delivering messages. We speed up our pace and arrive at the meeting room thirty seconds later. The usual quite and formal environment of the room was gone, people are yelling over the top of each other, some trying to calm others down but not doing a very good job, with others just standing on the spot, unsure of what to do in the middle of all the chaos. "SHUT-UP!" Skulduggery roars. The room is dead silent, everyone staring at him. "What the hell is going on?" he demands, but the only response he gets is everyone turning to Cassandra, sitting quietly in one of the chairs. "The possessed are getting closer, I can see them coming tomorrow night" she says in a worried tone, "But a vision that a sensitive has rarely comes true" China argues, "It's still worth preparing though" I say, supporting Cassandra, "How can we prepare then? Twenty-four hours isn't much when it comes to building towers and recruiting mages!" One of China's apprentices points out. "Maybe we don't have to do that stuff, what if China and her mates just put down more symbols, or improve what we already have. You know the saying, 'Less is more' " Fletcher suggests, "And what would you say we do!" Skulduggery argues, but Fletcher doesn't notice the bitterness in Skulduggery's voice "I don't know, what if we electrify the fence or something, kinda like in a movie" he replies, everyone stares at him, "I don't know! I've never been in this sort of situation before!" he exclaims sulkily, then sits down. "I know this is going to be really cliché" I say "But that could actually work"


	4. Frightened

**Fletchers POV**

I arrive back at the sanctuary with the last load of supplies. I'm still struggling to figure out how this all happened so quickly. We come to Africa, start turning the sanctuary into a fortress (figuratively speaking), find out about an incoming attack and everyone agrees on my idea to make an electric fence. I'm starting to wonder if we're starting to lose our sanity.

As I make my way to my room, I stop to look at what we have done. There is a huge ring of bare earth surrounding the sanctuary, at ten meter intervals there are little square stones, each with a symbol or two on it. I assume the symbols have been carved on these so China and her students don't have to find smooth ground to work on (The terrain is pretty rough in this area).

I turn around to keep going, only to walk face first into a mans rock-hard stomach. I look up, feeling very, very small. The man is huge, with ebony skin and a huge grin. "You look lost" he says. Add a booming, deep voice to that description. "Uh, I'm just, er, heading to my room" I stutter, "Well, It seems you know where you're going" he jokes, then laughs "I'm Frightening Jones, nice to meet you" he says, holding out a plate sized hand "I'm Fletcher Renn, nice to meet you too" I manage, my fingers getting crushed inside his as we shake hands.

"I'll see you tonight then" he booms, "Uh, alright. See you then" I say, confused by his optimistic attitude about his exteremely high chances of dying.


	5. Firsthand experience

**Valkyrie's POV**

A shiver runs down my spine, but not from the cold. We're all lined up behind the fence, which hums quietly, a lethal amount of electricity running through it. I hear a booming, strangely optimistic voice several meters away, greeting someone. Skulduggery takes his place beside me. "You can do this" he whispers to me, though he doesn't mean fighting the possessed. He means not killing everyone, he means not destroying lives, he means not leveling everything in my path. My path, or hers?

**Skulduggery's POV**

As I take my place next to Valkyrie, I hear a loud voice nearby. "You can do this" I whisper to her. She doesn't respond.

**Fletcher's POV**

"Fletcher!" Frightening greets me, breaking the silence. "Hey" I reply softly.

I glance to the right. Several meters away I see Val and Skulduggery standing side by side. Skulduggery whispers to Valkyrie, she doesn't respond.

Then I hear a distant scream.

* * *

**Valkyries POV**

The scream is far away, yet it makes my knees go weak. The scream wasn't one of fear, pain or desperation. It was the scream of a monster. Something so inhuman that it could only be described as other, and it belongs to the figure that is sprinting towards us out of the darkness. Just as it reaches the ring surrounding the sanctuary, a blue light shoots up, killing the person instantly while the stone it comes from turns to dust.

We would have saved them, but with the time we had we weren't able to set up a strategy to collect and contain them, so we have to kill them. This thought brings tears to my eyes, but I know that I don't have as much experience as the other mages, and that they know best.

There is a flash on the east side of the ring, and another person falls to the ground at the edge. There are multiple screams in the distance, which continue to get closer, until they reach the ring. As they do, I am deafened by the screaming, there are at least 40 possessed running to their deaths in the ring. Sensing a mass of enemies nearby, too large to deal with, the sigil stones detonate, creating a huge explosion at the edge of the ring. The light from the explosion silhouettes hundreds of figures in the distance, which all turn towards the sanctuary in unison.


End file.
